But I also have a taste for wine, as my now quite numerous writeups on the subject will attest. Herein lies something of a problem: tomato sauces are, in general, quite acidic, and tend to do battle with the wines you drink alongside them. So you take a bite of your lasagne bolognese and follow it with a sip of, say, Merlot, and you go "Yow!"

But there is hope. After all, the Italians have been cultivating grapes and tomatoes together for centuries, right? They have responded to the acid challenge by developing wines that are relatively high in acid themselves (all wine, red or white, has some level of acid, but some more than others...), and this provides the necessary structure to stand up to the tomato acid. The result is an eating experience where you get to enjoy both food and drink, which now peacefully coexist. Below I list several types of Italian red wines that will quite likely go well with tomato-based dishes. You are on your own finding a good wine from these styles.